Orphan Black Refresher: Who's Who Among the Clones?

Friday

Apr 11, 2014 at 6:55 PM

It's almost time for another meeting of the Clone Club!After a nearly year-long hiatus, BBC America's sci-fi thriller Orphan Black will return for its second season on Saturday, April 19 at 9/8c, with star Tatiana Maslany bringing our favorite clones ...

TV Guide

It's almost time for another meeting of the Clone Club!

After a nearly year-long hiatus, BBC America's sci-fi thriller Orphan Black will return for its second season on Saturday, April 19 at 9/8c, with star Tatiana Maslany bringing our favorite clones back to life.

In the second season, protagonist Sarah Manning (Maslany) and her fellow clones (also Maslany) attempt to get to the bottom of the conspiracy behind the mysterious Dyad Institute, run by the Neolutionists who believe in self-directed evolution and created the clones. They're opposed by the Proletheans, religious extremists who view the clones as abominations against God.

Adding another layer to the drama is the introduction of new clone Jennifer Fitzsimmons, a Midwestern teacher and swim coach who sought Dyad's help after she fell ill with a respiratory disease similar to that of German clone Katja. And don't forget about pro-clone Rachel, who is hellbent on getting her hands on Sarah.

Confused? TVGuide.com has a refresher course on each of the clones below:

Elizabeth Childs: She was a police detective who committed suicide by jumping in front of a train for as yet unknown reasons, although it's suspected that she had a psychotic break while under investigation for shooting a civilian who was secretly an agent of the Proletheans. Beth's boyfriend Paul (Dylan Bruce) was also secretly her monitor, someone planted by Dyad to oversee a clone's everyday life.

Sarah Manning: The con artist took on the identity of dead clone Beth Childs, landing right in the middle of the clone conspiracy. The only clone known to have procreated, the tough-as-nails Sarah has used her street smarts to stay one step ahead of the Neolutionists, who may have kidnapped her daughter Kira (Skyler Wexler).

Alison Hendrix: The suburban soccer mom was the wild card during the first season. Dedicated to protecting her family, the erratic Alison is quick to go off the rails, especially when she is trying to suss out the identity of her monitor. This paranoia prompted her to leave her BFF Aynsley (Natalie Lisinska) to die and torture her husband Donnie (Kristian Bruun) using a hot glue gun. Although Donnie convinced her of his innocence and therefore is still in her life, we as viewers found out she was right about him.

Cosima Niehaus: As a PhD student studying microbiology, Cosima has the knowledge to study herself and her fellow clones, which is a good thing since she's come down with a respiratory illness much like Katja's. But the intelligent hippie is often blinded by her overconfidence when it comes to science and by her emotions when it comes to her monitor Delphine (Evelyne Brochu), whom she's fallen in love with.

Mega Buzz: Get scoop on the new season of Orphan Black

Helena: Helena is the biological twin of Sarah but was raised separately in a Russian convent until the Proletheans kidnapped her. She was then brainwashed into believing that she's the original person whom the rest were cloned from and trained to assassinate those clone abominations. After Helena kills their birth mother, Sarah brutally shoots her and leaves her for dead.

Rachel Duncan: Referred to as the "pro-clone," Rachel was raised by the Neolutionists. Not much else is known about the newest clone yet other than that she holds some power within the Dyad Institute and rocks a killer bob. Through proxies, Rachel attempted to get the clones to sign a contract that would allegedly free them from their monitored life. What she neglected to share, however, is that Dyad had patented the clones when they were first created, which makes them the company's intellectual property.

Who do you think is the best clone? Vote in our poll below and hit the comments with your thoughts!

Orphan Black returns Saturday, April 19 at 9/8c on BBC America.

Take the poll for this article at TVGuide.com >

View original Orphan Black Refresher: Who's Who Among the Clones? at TVGuide.com

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